Shaky support for Merkel coalition

A possible coalition by Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) and Free Democrats (FDP) has received shaky support, two polls have indicated.

Two polls by pollsters Forsa and Allensbach showed a coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU with the FDP has a total two-point lead over Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Similar polls conducted by other pollsters showed that Merkel has a high chance of winning the support for forming a center-right coalition against a center-left coalition to be led by SPD.

A center-right government would look for opportunities to cut income, corporate and inheritance taxes, probably starting in 2011.

However, a third poll, released by Berlin-based Info GmbH, showed a contrary result, giving CDU-FDP just 46 percent of votes, while the SPD, Greens and Left could jointly expect 49 percent of the vote with other smaller parties taking five percent.

The CDU's deputy leader, Roland Koch, appealed for his party to engage more in the final days of the election campaign.

"Nobody should think that we can win the parliamentary election from the spectators' stand," he said.